1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to emergency vehicle alert systems and apparatus mounted to the interior rearview mirror of a vehicle, and more particularly to an emergency vehicle alert system coupled with an interior rearview mirror of a vehicle that will visually and audibly alert a driver of the presence of an emergency vehicle or railroad train in the proximity so that the driver may respond appropriately.
2. Background Art
Emergency vehicles, such as ambulances, police cars and fire trucks and equipped with acoustical sirens for signaling their presence. Similarly, railroad trains and many railroad crossings are equipped with acoustic signals to warn drivers of the approaching train. Many accidents are caused because a driver did not hear the warning signal of the emergency vehicle or train due to the soundproofed interior and/or background noise of internal radios, heaters, air conditioners and other sound producing devices present in modern motor vehicles, or because they may have been engaged in a telephone conversation using a cell phone. Hearing-impaired drivers are also put at risk when they are unable to see the flashing lights of the emergency vehicle.
Various methods and systems have been proposed to inform a vehicle driver of the proximity of an emergency vehicle however, many proposed emergency vehicle warning systems are located in the vehicle interior in a position that would cause distraction and require the driver to redirect his or her eyes away from the front of the vehicle.
Conventional rearview mirrors are mounted in a housing at one end of a pivotal, double ball joint mounting arm which is connected at its other end to a coupling channel member which is received on a mounting button fixed to the inner facing surface of the vehicle windshield with adhesive or epoxy, or the mirror housing may be mounted at the end of a single pivot mounting arm attached to the vehicle in the header roof area above the windshield. Most common rearview mirror assemblies are typically used only for rear vision. However, recently various additional electronic, electric and functional features, such as map reading lights, have been added to the rearview mirror assembly.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to provide an emergency vehicle alert system coupled with an interior rearview mirror of a vehicle that will both visually and audibly alert a driver of the presence of an emergency vehicle or railroad train in the proximity so that the driver may respond appropriately without causing distraction or requiring the driver to redirect his or her eyes away from the front of the vehicle.
The present invention is distinguished over the prior art in general, and these patents in particular by an emergency vehicle alert system coupled with an interior rearview mirror assembly attached to the windshield or a header portion of a vehicle that will visually and audibly alert a driver of the presence of an emergency vehicle or railroad train in the proximity so that the driver may respond appropriately. A sound transducer having a probe engaged with the windshield receives acoustical warning signals from emergency vehicles and other vehicles, converts them into electrical audio frequency signals and sends them to an audio pre-amplifier which amplifies the signals and feeds them to a sound discriminator calibrated to evaluate and discriminate between signals that fit within parameters set for particular emergency sound frequencies. A piezo beeper alarm and an audio output amplifier and programmed voice warning unit are triggered upon detection of sounds that fit within the parameters. The piezo beeper alarm emits a continuous audible high-pitched tone, and the audio output amplifier and programmed voice warning unit plays a digital voice announcement via a speaker, and light emitting diodes become illuminated at the same time the audible high-pitched tone and voice announcement are activated. The circuitry is powered by one or more DC batteries and may be recharged by solar cells.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an emergency vehicle alert system conveniently located within the interior of a vehicle that will both visually and audibly alert a driver of the presence of an emergency vehicle or railroad train in the proximity so that the driver may respond appropriately without causing distraction or requiring the driver to redirect his or her eyes away from the front of the vehicle.
It is another object of this invention to provide an emergency vehicle alert system that is easily integrated into a vehicle with little or no impact on the vehicle interior.
Another object of this invention is to provide an emergency vehicle alert system coupled with an interior rearview mirror of a vehicle that will not cause distraction or require the driver to redirect his or her eyes away from the front of the vehicle.
Another object of this invention is to provide an emergency vehicle alert system that can be easily and quickly installed on an existing interior rearview mirror assembly without the use of special tools.
A further object of this invention is to provide an interior rearview mirror assembly that includes an emergency vehicle alert system.
A still further object of this invention is to provide an emergency vehicle alert system coupled with an interior rearview mirror assembly, that is simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, and rugged and reliable in operation.
Other objects of the invention will become apparent from time to time throughout the specification and claims as hereinafter related.
The above noted objects and other objects of the invention are accomplished by an emergency vehicle alert system coupled with an interior rearview mirror assembly attached to the windshield or a header portion of a vehicle that will visually and audibly alert a driver of the presence of an emergency vehicle or railroad train in the proximity so that the driver may respond appropriately. A sound transducer having a probe engaged with the windshield receives acoustical warning signals from emergency vehicles and other vehicles, converts them into electrical audio frequency signals and sends them to an audio pre-amplifier which amplifies the signals and feeds them to a sound discriminator calibrated to evaluate and discriminate between signals that fit within parameters set for particular emergency sound frequencies. A piezo beeper alarm and an audio output amplifier and programmed voice warning unit are triggered upon detection of sounds that fit within the parameters. The piezo beeper alarm emits a continuous audible high-pitched tone, and the audio output amplifier and programmed voice warning unit plays a digital voice announcement via a speaker, and light emitting diodes become illuminated at the same time the audible high-pitched tone and voice announcement are activated. The circuitry is powered by one or more DC batteries and may be recharged by solar cells.